Night raid on Konoha
by jwg676
Summary: Konoha experiences a raid
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Night raid on Konoha

**Rating:** G, action

**Pairing / Characters: **Hyuuga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto, Nara Shikaku, Nara Shikamaru, Ichiraku and Ayame

**Word Count: **1,133 words

**Warnings: **Nothing, I should think

**Summary: **Konoha experiences a night raid

**A/N: **The first of twelve (!) chapters. I decided to do each chapter as an hour in which the night raid takes place.

_Silently, swiftly, four dozen ninja from Kirigakure sped towards the hidden village of Konoha. Their orders were simple: infiltrate, search and destroy all hidden leaf forces and ensure that Konoha would never be able to regain its military power. The further assassination of the Fifth would complete their mission._

_Cloaked in mist, Kirigakure's finest shinobi moved through the growing shadows._

_Half past six to half past seven_

It was a relatively peaceful evening in the village. Many people were still outdoors, enjoying the balmy summery air, and among them, the slender figure of Hyuuga Hinata wandered through the crowds alone.

Quite used to spending her free time by herself; Hinata was on her way to Yamanaka Flowers to see if she could find something unusual to complete her collection with.

She took a deep breath of the fresh air, folding her hands behind her back, a tiny spring in her step as she remembered the morning's events, when the object of her affections had greeted her and offered to walk with her to the training grounds…

Hinata's eyes were drawn by Ichiraku's ramen stand, the bright lights and lanterns highlighting the bright hair and jacket that lay over an unoccupied chair. Hinata smiled. Naruto-kun would be having dinner now, and she was happy to hear how cheerful his voice sounded. Things had been so stressful for him lately she knew, and she was glad to see him back on his feet when it counted.

She walked past the ramen stand and took a shortcut through a side alley that lead almost straight to Yamanaka Flowers. It was only then that something odd caught her attention – mist.

Hinata frowned. Surely – no, it wasn't possible for there to be mist on such a clear, warm evening. Stepping into the shadows, Hinata performed the seals that would activate her byakugan, and searched her surroundings. At first she saw nothing, but focusing in the way she had been taught, she soon made out at least a dozen dark shapes leaping from rooftop to rooftop. It seemed like the mist was concealing them, and her silver eyes widened as she came to the only obvious conclusion.

Turning, Hinata flew back the way she came, straight towards Ichiraku ramen.

'How was your mission, Naruto?'

Naruto beamed at Ichiraku. 'Success! We even got back early, but I thought I would come here to eat; everything at home went funny.'

Ayame laughed softly. 'That's what happens when you're away for a week.'

Naruto broke apart a set of chopsticks. 'Itadakimasu!'

He ate at his usual speed, ignoring the other patrons beside him, trying not to notice a little girl pulling funny faces at him.

Eventually, he dropped the chopsticks into his bowl, got off his chair, and crouched down at eye level.

'Oi, tebayo. What's with all the faces?'

The little girl giggled, and pointed a chubby finger at his hitae-ate.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. 'Huh?'

'Her father is a shinobi,' the child's mother said, smiling.

Naruto beamed in understanding. 'Like me!

The young woman answered his statement with a giggle, but Naruto wasn't paying any attention. Something was wrong.

Getting to his feet abruptly, he reached into his kunai holster and pulled out a kunai, instinctively moving to stand in front of the woman and her child.

Ichiraku's eyebrow twitched. 'Naruto? That's really bad for business –'

'Yeah, so is death,' Naruto said briefly. 'Something is wrong, old man. Take Ayame-neechan and get to a safe place – and you too, oneechan,' he added, glancing at the woman and her child. 'Your husband has probably already realized the same thing – that something isn't right. Hurry!'

The woman obeyed hastily, swinging her daughter into her arms and leaving the bright ramen stand for the twilit streets.

The sun was setting, and the streets were bathed in red, and Naruto left the ramen stand, one hand reaching for a kunai as he searched the streets and shops around him.

Just then, a voice called his name. 'Naruto-kun!'

He flicked a glance to the side, seeing Hinata flying towards him. Her eyes were dilated, and Naruto realized that if she was using her byakugan, then his instincts were correct.

'We're under attack, aren't we?' he demanded.

Hinata nodded. 'I saw at least a dozen shinobi heading towards the jounin offices,' she told him.

Naruto frowned. 'Only twelve of them? That can't be right –'

'Naruto-kun, we need to start moving people to safety,' Hinata said anxiously. 'I don't want to see innocent people getting hurt.'

'Good thinking. Kage bunshin no jutsu!'

Hinata blinked as six clones scattered through the streets. Naruto looked satisfied.

'They'll start warning people – we need to find Kakashi-sensei or Shikamaru or Kurenai-sensei so that they can be prepared. Don't let your guard down!'

In answer, Hinata pulled out a kunai and took a breath. 'I'm ready.'

'Oi, dad.'

'Hmm?'

'We're under attack.'

Shikaku looked surprised, but was already getting to his feet and reaching for his jacket.

'Why do you say that?'

'Mist,' Shikamaru answered. 'On an evening like this, with no rain, there should be no moisture in the air.'

As he was speaking, he was strapping on his shuriken holster, moving towards the door.

Shikaku glanced at his wife. 'You know what to do.'

'Of course,' she said calmly, reaching for her cloak and a wakizashi in a faded sheath. Together, the three of them left the house as it was, splitting up when they got outside.

'You have your own duties to attend to,' Shikaku told his son. 'Go on, and be careful.'

Shikamaru sighed. 'This is so troublesome.'

As he moved across the rooftops towards the Akimichi residences, Shikamaru snorted. 'Do they really think no one will notice this mist?' he wondered. 'I mean, come on, we're not shinobi for nothing…'

Kirigakure. It had to be.

Shikamaru glanced around him, sensing three presences behind him. Converting his jump into a reverse tumble, Shikamaru came up in a crouch, already forming the seal. In the setting sun, there was just enough light to use kage mane, and he managed to trap three mist nin who were poised to attack, but instead wore expressions of puzzlement.

'What the –'

Shikamaru grinned and got to his feet. 'Kage mane successful,' he told his opponents cheerfully. Inwardly however, his mind was racing.

In just a few moments the sun would have gone down, and he would lose the precious light that made his jutsu so successful. If he took down the first shinobi, there were still two more whose skills were unknown. The longer he took, the more chakra he wasted, and the possibility that more of them would arrive increased.

Then, as if to prove his suspicions correct, he felt the presence of two people behind him…


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Night raid on Konoha

**Rating:** G, Action

**Pairing / Characters: **Hatake Kakashi, Maito Gai, Mitarashi Anko, Sarutobi Asuma, Akimichi Chouji, Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru Haruno Sakura, Shizune

**Word Count: **820 words

**Warnings: **Nothing?

**Summary: **Chapter two – half past seven to half past eight

**A/N: **This is fun…

_Half past seven to half past eight_

Kakashi yawned, stretching wearily, rubbing at his temple as he took in the piles of hated paperwork.

'I would give almost anything to get out of this,' he muttered under his breath, only seconds before a kunai with an exploding tag shattered the glass window behind him.

With the grace and speed usually attributed to jounin level shinobi, Kakashi dived across his table, taking shelter on the opposite side as the kunai hit the floor and exploded, sending papers, furniture, pencils and other paraphernalia flying. Kakashi threw up his hand, shielding his face from the debris, and in the deafening silence that followed, he got to his feet, hearing pounding footsteps in the corridor outside.

The door flew open, and Gai's white face could be seen through the dust.

'Kakashi – are you all right?'

'Fine, fine,' Kakashi answered absently. 'Gai, we –'

The second explosion a little way down the corridor made both of them exchange glances before they flew out of the ruined office.

'Sakura, come over here,' Shizune called urgently.

Sakura dropped the book she was holding and crossed the room, her eyes taking in the strained expression on Shizune's face.

'Is something wrong, Shizune-sama?'

'Konoha is under attack,' Shizune replied. 'Tsunade-sama told me to assign you to the medical team; go straight to the hospital. They'll be following your orders when you're out in the field, so be careful.'

'Who should I attend to first?'

'Civilians if you come across them, otherwise our shinobi. Two other teams are being sent out as we speak, yours is the last.'

Sakura straightened. 'I understand,' she answered calmly, although her heart was pounding.

Shizune watched anxiously as she left the library hastily before following her.

Kakashi had his sharingan uncovered before they reached the source of the second explosion. He could see Anko, a kunai in each hand, tussling with a masked shinobi. In the harsh light, the Kirigakure nin's hitae-ate was clearly visible.

Without hesitation, Gai threw himself into the fray, a yell of pure glee echoing above the sounds of fighting as he slammed his opponent through the wall and into an empty office. Kakashi saw the katana coming towards him, and twisted out of the way, already bringing up his hands to form a seal. The nin sprung towards him, abandoning the katana in favour of a shuriken. He threw it hard, and Kakashi didn't move away from the spinning black disk. It caught him across the throat, and Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke.

The nin swore. 'Kage bunshin!'

The real Kakashi tutted from behind the nin. 'Slow…'

The nin turned slowly at the sound of Kakashi's voice, his eyes widening in pure horror at the sight of the sharingan.

'Sharingan no Kakashi…' he whispered.

'You lose,' Kakashi informed him calmly, not even blinking as his kunai tore apart the nin's throat and he went down in a rain of blood.

'Sen'eijashu!' Anko shouted, flinging up her right hand. Several snakes burst free of her sleeve, straight towards her attacker. The nin flailed wildly as the snakes bit down on his exposed skin. His movements grew more frantic as the deadly poison entered his bloodstream, and within seconds, he collapsed, limbs still twitching despite the fact that he had already been dead for at least five seconds. Backing up to give herself more room in the narrow corridor, Anko found herself back to back with Asuma.

'This is going to be a hell of a night,' the jounin muttered wryly.

Shikamaru froze. How the hell had he been so careless, so –'

'Missing something, Shikamaru?' a familiar voice asked.

Shikamaru relaxed. 'Took you long enough, he grunted.

Ino laughed softly as she stepped up beside him. 'Aw, were you worried, Shikamaru?'

Chouji glared at Ino as he fell into place beside her. 'Don't start, Ino.'

Ino glared back. 'What are you talking about?'

'Do you mind?' Shikamaru asked unenthusiastically. 'We're fighting here.'

At the conversation, the nin in the middle grinned. 'They're just a bunch of brats playing ninja. I admit your jutsu is powerful, but it requires light – and you don't have any!'

Ino's expression was scornful as she reached behind her, pulling two items from her weapon bag. 'Brats?' she asked. 'Really?'

Unhesitatingly, Ino threw the first item into the air – a small paper ball with a kanji on it. The second item made Shikamaru grin broadly – a kunai with an exploding tag. She hurled the kunai at the ball, shielding her eyes as the tag exploded and so did the ball, casting an ethereal light over the rooftop.

'Bubun baika no jutsu!' Chouji yelled. 'Left arm!'

The nin gasped as Chouji extended his arm, easily reaching him. As he wrapped his huge hand around the shinobi, Ino had already brought up her hands. She grinned menacingly.

'Formation Ino-Shika-Chou complete! Shinranshin no jutsu!'


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Night raid on Konoha

**Rating:** G, action

**Pairing / Characters: **Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, Tenten, Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, Haruno Sakura, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Umino Iruka

**Word Count: **1, 192 words

**Warnings: **

**Summary: **

**A/N: **

_Half past eight to half past nine_

'Shino! Where the hell is Hinata?'

Shino dodged a shuriken neatly, silently commanding the bugs to attack his opponent. As a black swarm enveloped the nin, he glanced at Kiba.

'I do not know. Hinata has become quite… withdrawn.'

'Akamaru!' Kiba roared. 'Get over here!'

Clasping his hands together in preparation, he growled 'Withdrawn? You mean since the Naruto thing? Yeah, well, I've tried talking – jujin bunshin!'

Immediately, a second Kiba stood beside the first, and Kiba grinned bleakly. 'but she doesn't want to talk to me. Gatsuuga!'

Tenten swore under her breath. Somehow, she had been separated from Neji and Lee, and was alone in the centre of three or four nins, all of whom were brandishing weapons. There was no time to play around with them, as much as she wanted to. Her team was somewhere out there, and she needed to end this fast. Reaching behind her, she pulled two scrolls out of her weapons pouch and knelt down, hands flying in the seals that would activate them.

Crossing her arms, she called out the jutsu that sent her scrolls spinning into the air.

Tenten jumped up into the centre of the scrolls, slamming her hand against them as they spun, sending a rain of metal onto the nins below her.

Their screams didn't even register with her, nor did the blood on the ground when she landed lightly.

'Fools,' she muttered, and grabbing her weapons, ran off to find Lee and Neji.

'The evacuation is underway, Tsunade-sama,' Shizune reported hastily. 'Iruka-sensei and Shikamaru's team are supervising the removal of civilians to areas of safety. Sakura's team is already performing triage on those who need it.'

'Does she have a backup team of shinobi?' Tsunade demanded.

Shizune shook her head. 'None that we could spare. They're on their own.'

'I'll go. I've had the itch to see what that little girl is capable of,' Jiraiya said.

Tsunade glanced at him. 'Shouldn't you be seeing to your own apprentice?'

Now the frog hermit laughed. 'Naruto is more than capable of looking after himself, particularly since he seems determined to prove himself to everyone.'

'Jiraiya – I'm sure I don't have to tell you to be careful,' Tsunade said calmly.

'This? child's play.'

Shizune watched as the two sannin leapt from the window, their voices raised in unison.

'Kuchiyose no jutsu!'

She ran to the window, watching as a frog went one way, and a slug another, before flying out the door.

'Konoha senpuu!' Lee shouted, kicking his opponent across the temple and sending him flying.

He landed on the rooftop, balanced lightly on the tiles and stood up to his full height, folding an arm behind his back.

'Bring it on,' he told the second man, who had more sense than his partner, and was watching cautiously.

Lee grinned. 'Are you actually afraid of me?' he asked.

Neji dropped down beside him. 'Don't taunt him too much, Lee. We don't know what he's capable of.'

'We can handle it.'

'That may be so, but we don't want to put him to shame, do we?'

The nin scowled. 'Brats!' he snapped, and leapt forward.

Lee bowed. 'All yours, Neji.'

Neji grinned. 'Thanks, I think. Hakke!'

Sakura glanced around her warily as she led her medical team into the heart of Konoha. Bodies were everywhere, and she counted at least half a dozen Konoha hitae-ates as she walked.

A groan caught her attention, and she stopped, kneeling down beside a young man who lay on his side, several shuriken protruding from his stomach. Sakura winced, and gently turned him over, seeing the leaf on his hitae-ate.

'Spread out, look for the wounded,' she ordered her team sharply. 'Heal whatever you can, but be careful! We're not safe yet!'

The young man grabbed her arm. 'Help me, please… help me… hurts…'

Sakura clasped her hands together. 'Please lie still, and try not to move.'

She laid her hands on his stomach, slowly healing the wounds, removing the shuriken as she did so. He hadn't moved, but his bright green eyes were focused on her face as the terrible wounds healed.

'Thank you,' he whispered hoarsely. 'You're an angel…'

Sakura's throat tightened. 'Hush now… you're going to be fine. We'll have you moved to a safe area in a few minutes.'

'Ah, Sakura.'

Sakura turned, glancing up at the tall figure on the frog.

'Need a hand?' Jiraiya asked.

She nodded. 'This man is wounded – he needs to be taken to a safe place.'

Jiraiya leapt to the ground, and gently picked up the young man.

'Tsunade's quite worried, Sakura. Be careful, please.'

'Always,' she said briefly, and got to her feet, her medical team awaiting further orders.

'Any more wounded?' she called.

'Nothing, Sakura-san,' Hideo answered.

'All right, let's move out!'

Iruka ran through the streets, a terrible weight lodged in his stomach as he flew towards the orphanage. The children had been forgotten in the carnage that had taken place in the last two hours, and he had seen more injured and wounded civilians and shinobi than he cared to.

Despite his frantic worry for the children, he laughed softly. Clearly, Konoha was once again a force to be reckoned with.

He was near the orphanage when a scream rang out. Without hesitation, Iruka changed course and found a young woman with two children huddled against a wall. A broken hitae-ate lay on the floor beside her, and Iruka didn't think twice about pulling a kunai and hurling it at the shinobi standing over them.

He turned, and Iruka straightened.

'Another one's crawled out of the woodwork,' the nin growled. 'This is becoming really annoying.'

'Speak for yourself,' Iruka said calmly. To the woman he said 'run! Take the children and go!'

'Like I'll let that happen!' the nin said, and brought the kunai he was holding down. Iruka threw himself forward –

And the kunai tore a gash in his dark green flak jacket, cutting into the skin of his shoulder where the young woman's face had been only seconds before. Iruka had gathered her into his arms, pressing her back against the wall, blocking the blow with his own body.

She lifted her head, her eyes wide, and he saw the panic in the grey depths.

'It's all right,' he soothed. 'Don't move, I'll take care of him…'

Iruka twisted, throwing up his right arm, dislodging the Kirigakure shinobi's grip on the kunai. Coming up off the ground, he pulled the kunai from his shoulder and threw it point first at the shinobi. It caught him low in the chest, and still moving, Iruka kicked him backwards.

His shoulder ached, but Iruka ignored it, and knelt down, pulling the woman to her feet.

'Did he hurt you?' he asked anxiously.

She shook her head, a faint movement in the darkness. 'N-no – but it's only thanks to you…'

Iruka chuckled. 'Ah, you give me too much credit. Come on, let's get you and those children to safety.'

'But you're injured –'

'This? It's nothing. Come now, we need to move.'

'H-hai…'


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Half past nine to half past ten

**Rating:** Action

**Pairing / Characters: **Ebisu, Yuuhi Kurenai, Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata, Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji, Umino Iruka

**Word Count: **1, 073 words

**Warnings: **Nothing

**Summary: **Hinata is wounded, Tsunade takes action to protect her village

**A/N: **Respect to every person who has the guts to try and write a fight sequence. As Yamisui attested (even though I haven't spoken to Yamisui myself) in an author's note for Red Blossom, writing these kind of things are hard. It's true!!! I have three books under my belt and I _still _battle with the damned things.

My brain is still hurting and I'm not even done yet : ( cries

Ebisu found himself back to back with another jounin, someone he vaguely recognized from her dark hair and red eyes.

Her hands were clasped together in a seal that he knew was genjutsu related, and with a faint flower scented breeze, she disappeared. Ebisu paid her no mind, knowing he had his own targets to attend to.

Spreading his legs, he bent over slightly, bringing up his hands on either side of his face. In the confusion he had lost his glasses, and his dark eyes gleamed with an unholy light.

'Foolish,' he tutted, and sprang forward.

Like Ebisu, Kurenai paid her fellow jounin little attention. Already completing her genjutsu, she crept out of the tree trunk above the two nins trapped in its branches, a kunai in hand.

Even as the first nin glanced up at her, eyes widening in realization, Kurenai slashed downward with the kunai, not even blinking as thick droplets of blood were splattered across her hands and arms.

The second nin was struggling to free himself, but it was already too late by the time the branch had wrapped itself around his neck. Kurenai formed a second seal, and the branch tightened, mercilessly cutting off his supply of air.

He thrashed wildly, gasping for air, but Kurenai didn't remove the genjutsu until he sagged against the tree trunk. She landed lightly, eyes scanning the area around her. As another nin swerved in front of her, Kurenai simply twisted her arm, embedding the kunai in his chest.

Ebisu glanced over at her. 'Moving on?'

Kurenai nodded. 'Right behind you.'

'That's right, let the gentleman go first,' Ebisu muttered, but not so loudly that she could hear him.

Kakashi plummeted through the open window, twisting through the air, already forming seals. He landed in a crouch, completing the seal as he did so.

'Suiton: Dabakufu no jutsu!'

The mass of water slammed the Kirigakure nins off their feet and into the side of the jounin offices, washing out into the body filled streets beyond the gates.

Expression bleak, Kakashi surveyed their bodies, making sure they were well and truly dead before he moved on.

Naruto swore viciously. In the fracas, he and Hinata had been separated.

He stood alone but unafraid in the centre of a ring of Kirigakure nins, and a broad, furious smirk crossed his face.

'Kage bunshin no jutsu!'

The nin closest to him laughed. 'You really think that will work on us, brat?'

Naruto looked aggrieved. 'Why does everyone call me that?' he wondered aloud.

'Maybe because you are a brat?' the nin suggested insultingly.

Naruto glared at him. 'Piece of trash,' he muttered, drawing on the chakra of the nine tails.

'I'll deal with you first, old man!' he snapped, holding out his hand. Immediately, one of the clones leapt forward and the shinobi's eyes widened as chakra began to gather in Naruto's palm.

'What the –'

Naruto leapt at him. 'RASENGAN!'

For some reason, the remaining nins didn't seem so keen on attacking him after all, and Naruto used it to his advantage. Half an hour later, panting heavily, Naruto surveyed his handiwork with pleasure despite the fact that he had been seriously wounded. The wound itself didn't concern him – in a matter of hours it would already have begun healing itself.

No, what concerned him was that Hinata was somewhere out there, alone.

Retrieving a kunai, Naruto ran down the dark streets, not needing the lights to see where he was going.

In a way it was a good thing, because Naruto didn't know quite when the electricity had gone off.

Hinata was already in position, pupils dilated, her silver eyes fixed on her opponent. Two shinobi had already gone down, completely unable to use their tenketsu, but Hinata could sense that this last one was going to be more dangerous, more deadly than the others had been.

Naruto-kun would never forgive me if I let him down now, she told herself grimly. I can do this!

Taking a deep breath, Hinata lifted her hands as the nin sprung towards her, wielding a long, slender katana.

'Shugo hakke, rokujuyonshou!'

Her opponent narrowly avoided her chakra, and Hinata paused, assessing the situation. Believing he sensed a weakness, the nin lunged at her again, this time bringing his katana down in an arc. Hinata ducked beneath the blow, stretching out her hand and slamming it against his stomach. He cried out, crumbling under her jyuuken, and Hinata leapt away, elated by her success.

As she did so, the nin brought up the katana again. Hinata saw the attack and dived to the side, but her opponent anticipated her movements and brought the katana up and to the side.

At first the pain didn't register, but the warmth of the blood – her blood – did. Silver eyes widening in disbelief, Hinata glanced down at the wound across her stomach, dark blood staining her jacket.

Her knees suddenly refused to hold her and she crumpled to the ground, her vision already going dark.

As she lost consciousness, she didn't see the kunai that embedded itself in her opponent's throat.

Tsunade slammed her fist into the wall, face contorted into an expression of rage.

Cracks radiated out from the point of impact, and Tsunade watched almost impassively as two of the Kirigakure shinobi lost their balance and fell over. Lifting her palm, Tsunade gathered her chakra, converting it into electricity and darting forward, pressed her hand against the base of the cloth-wrapped nin's neck. Once safely out of his range, Tsunade turned her attention to the other nin, simply slamming her fist into his face with enough force to snap his neck.

That taken care of, she glanced up at Katsuyu, a swift leap enough to land her on her summoning's back.

'Go!' she ordered. 'Get to the gates, and take down every enemy you see!'

'Of course, Tsunade-sama,' Katsuyu answered immediately, changing course and going straight for the gates.

There was a handful of shinobi in her path, and by the light of the fires that gutted several buildings nearby, Tsunade could see the pattern on their hitae-ates – patterns that marked them out as enemies.

She recognized their seal formation immediately as a summoning technique, and took immediate steps to counter it.

'Katsuyu! Zeshi Nensan!'

The screams of the mist nins went largely ignored as the hidden leaf Hokage concentrated on protecting her village.


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** Half past ten to half past eleven

**Rating:** Action

**Pairing / Characters: **Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, Hyuuga Hinata, Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji, Umino Iruka, Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, Akimichi Chozo, Jiraiya

**Word Count: **947 words

**Warnings: **Nothing

**Summary: **Hinata is healed, the will of the leaf rises, a mist technique is employed

**A/N: **Bah, humbug.

Neji moved faster than he could have believed he was capable of.

He and Lee had been flying through the streets when he'd heard a familiar jutsu, and seen a familiar figure facing off an opponent with a katana.

Neji had seen Hinata go down, and the sight of her defenceless form had made his rage spill over.

Activating his byakugan, Neji pulled a kunai and threw it straight at the nin, hitting him in the throat with incredible accuracy. Lee was already crouched down beside Hinata, pulling open her jacket to expose the horizontal slash across her stomach. She was bleeding badly, blood pumping out of the wound at an alarming rate. Neji swore silently, jerking off his jacket and pressing it against the wound to try and stop some of the terrible bleeding.

Lee got to his feet. 'I'll find a medic,' he said shortly. 'Stay with her, Neji.'

Neji nodded his acquiescence and Lee ran off – and then came short. Neji's head shot up in concern, until he heard Lee's joyful – and relieved – 'Sakura-san! We need you over here – '

Sakura ran over to them, her breath catching in her throat when her eyes fell on Hinata.

'Can you help her?' Neji asked anxiously.

'Of course,' Sakura said immediately, kneeling down and for the nth time that night, gathering her chakra and laying her hands over the wound.

Neji's frown deepened as he studied the medic nin. Sakura was covered in blood, some of which was possibly her own, and she looked absolutely exhausted, fine tremors running through her hands. Despite that, her eyes were filled with determination.

Hinata stirred suddenly, whimpering softly. As she forced her eyes open, it was to see her rescuers – Sakura, Neji nii-san, Lee. Only vaguely did Hinata realize that Sakura was healing her, but she didn't move until Neji said her name anxiously. 'Hinata?'

'Neji nii-san…' Hinata struggled to sit up, ignoring Neji's protests for her not to move.

'I'm – I'm ok… thank you, Sakura…'

Sakura sat back on her heels, studying Hinata's face. 'You should really rest, Hinata-san.'

Hinata shook her head resolutely. 'I will fight as long as I have breath in my body.'

She staggered to her feet, zipping up her bloodied jacket, and stared at her friends and her cousin.

'I'm a shinobi, and Konoha is my home. I'll do anything to protect it, anything.'

Sakura smiled suddenly. 'So let's do exactly that.'

Without any further hesitation, the four of them split up.

Shikamaru stood on the stairs, a kunai in hand, watching over Chouji and Ino as they escorted a group of women and children up into the caves within Hokage Mountain.

Ino was carrying two small children who clung to her in terror, their sobs muffled against her shoulders. She glanced up at Shikamaru.

'Can you help me?' she asked softly, and with a jolt, Shikamaru realized that she was on the verge of tears. He hurried down the stairs to her side and gently prised the first child out of her arms. Instantly the little girl slid her arms around his neck, sobbing about her mother.

'Hush, little one, we'll find your mama soon,' Shikamaru promised. 'We'll take you to some people who will take good care of you until then, ok?'

She nodded, sliding a thumb into her mouth. 'Can't you stay with me?' she asked sleepily.

'For a while,' Shikamaru answered, but the child was asleep before he had finished his sentence.

'Shikamaru.'

The chuunin lifted his head to see Iruka approaching. His flak jacket was ripped in several places, and in the dim moonlight, Shikamaru could see dark stains.

'Iruka-sensei –'

Seeing the concern in his former student's eyes, Iruka smiled faintly. 'Don't panic, it's not serious.'

Shikamaru's eyebrows shot up, and he sighed. 'This is troublesome.'

'I agree,' Iruka said so fervently Shikamaru stared at him.

'Well, come on, let's make sure that we've got everyone,' Iruka said quietly.

Shikamaru nodded in agreement, and the two chuunins headed up the stairs towards the caves.

'Shintenshin no jutsu!' Inoichi shouted, and Shikaku leapt in front of his comrade, catching him as his spirit entered that of the mist nin. Safely inside the mind of his opponent, Inoichi lifted a kunai and placed it at the throat of his fellow mist nin. With a hard, backward slash, Inoichi slit the mist nin's throat before releasing himself from the mind of the shinobi he had been in.

Pushing himself upright, Inoichi turned as Chozo swiped his target's feet out from underneath him.

Chozo glanced back at his comrades. 'Aren't we supposed to be neutral to Kirigakure?'

'Supposed to being the operative words,' Shikaku said dryly. 'Chozo, behind you!'

Again Inoichi brought up his hands. 'Shinranshin no jutsu!'

It was hard to tell who was more surprised – Shikaku, Chozo, or the mist nin as he found himself plummeting off the edge of the roof.

Jiraiya was perched atop his favourite frog, watching the shinobi in front of him cautiously.

The man, who wore a dark, rippling cloak, had no weapons, and as far as Jiraiya could tell, had performed no jutsus. This in itself was worrying; anyone who could escape the wrath of the leaf shinobi and still remain as calm as he was, clearly had a plan up his sleeve.

Jiraiya didn't like it at all.

The mist nin spoke. 'Kirigakure no jutsu.'

Jiraiya's eyes widened momentarily as mist suddenly clouded over a darkened Konoha, dulling the moonlight, the light of the fires in ruined buildings along the main streets.

'You have got to be joking,' the sannin muttered as the streets around him went completely dark.


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** Half past eleven to half past twelve

**Rating:** Action

**Pairing / Characters: **Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, Jiraiya, Pakkun

**Word Count: **1, 037 words

**Warnings: **Just for Naruto's usage of kyuubi's chakra… although I think we're all past that by now.

**Summary: **Naruto is out of control, Kakashi summons Pakkun to find him, and Jiraiya deals with a mist nin (although he'd rather be writing porn…)

**A/N: **This chapter was only written by listening to my favourite fighty-fighty music. Lots of fighty-fighty music.

Kakashi felt Naruto's chakra before he saw him.

When he did, he couldn't stifle the gasp at the sight of Naruto's condition. The orange jumpsuit was virtually shredded, staying on him only due to the amount of blood splashed across it.

He had lost his jacket, and the t shirt did little to conceal the cuts and bruises on his arms, and a deep, angry gash running the length of his neck and shoulder. His hitae-ate was askew, and his dark red eyes were wide with – panic… shock… fear…

Kakashi wasn't sure.

In the near darkness, he could see the chakra of the nine tails swirling around Naruto, could see the shape of the tail, the ears, the claws of chakra around his feet and hands. Naruto jumped across the remains of a wall and flew over to his sensei's side, panting.

'Kakashi-sensei… I can't hold this for much longer… it wants to get out…'

Even his voice was different, deeper, menacing, an animal like sound.

Kakashi dropped to one knee. 'Stop molding his chakra, Naruto! Just use your own!'

Naruto shook his head. 'I can't… if I stop now, I won't be any good… but it hurts…it burns… I don't have any chakra left… just his…'

Kakashi swore. The evening had taken a turn for the worse, and the last thing they needed was one out of control genin powered by a demon's chakra.

Naruto sank to his knees, pressing his hands against his temples, face contorting in pain. His breathing was more ragged now, and when he threw back his head, it was to let out the howl of rage that had been building up in his throat.

Kakashi fell backwards, landing painfully on the rubble as the chakra around Naruto increased in intensity, so much so that Kakashi could feel his exposed skin burning. In that instant, he understood what Naruto had meant, and his eyes on his student narrowed.

A second chakra tail was forming.

Before Kakashi could react, Naruto was on all fours, bounding off into the night.

Swearing, Kakashi made to go after him – and froze in horror as mist shrouded the streets.

Jiraiya sighed. 'Really, don't they have dossiers on Konoha shinobi anymore? Legendary is one thing, but stupidity… that's another. Don't you know who I am?'

Beneath him, the frog laughed, a wheezy, croaking sound that sounded ominous in the mist.

'Should I care?' the shinobi asked inquiringly.

Jiraiya looked offended, although no one could see it. 'Er, yes, you should. Haven't you ever heard of Jiraiya-sama, the frog hermit?'

'The third of the sannin? Interesting… I will indeed be feared when people learn that I killed a sannin.'

Jiraiya rolled his eyes. 'Spare me.'

Growling low in his throat, Naruto glared up at the shinobi that blocked his path. The chakra tails were the only things really visible in the mist, but his enhanced senses saw the shinobi in front of him in perfect detail.

'Get… out…of…my…way…' he snarled.

In answer, the nin reached into his weapons bag and pulled out several wickedly curved shuriken.

'I don't know who you are,' the nin began almost conversationally, 'but your life was over the moment you crossed my path.'

Pulling his arm back, the nin let fly with the shuriken – and reared back in shock as Naruto swiped through the air with an outstretched arm – and the chakra shield swept forward, knocking the shuriken to the floor. Moving so fast he was just a blur, Naruto lunged forward, and his claws tore open the mist shinobi's chest.

Kakashi ran his thumb across the wound in his arm, collecting a drop of blood. Clasping his hands together, he formed a set of seals before placing his palm on the ground.

'Kuchiyose no jutsu!'

Mere seconds later, a voice echoed eerily in the mist.

'Yo.'

'Pakkun, I need you to find Naruto. In this mist the best – and possibly only way – to find him is by scent.'

'What's he gone and done now?'

Kakashi sighed. 'He's drawn too much on Kyuubi's chakra. I'm not sure how much he can handle before he loses himself – or his body refuses to take the strain. When you find him, call me and I'll come at once.'

'Gotcha,' Pakkun replied, and trotted off in the direction Naruto had last taken.

Kakashi grimaced and got to his feet, listening for footsteps in the mist. Although he didn't hear anything, he didn't let his guard down.

Abruptly, bright flames lit up the night.

Jiraiya glanced down at the frog. 'How about some oil?'

The frog croaked in reply, and Jiraiya got to his feet, legs slightly apart. He brought up his right hand, calling out his jutsu. 'Katon: Gamayu Emudan!'

Flames lit up the night, chasing away the clouds of mist.

Jiraiya plopped back down on the frog, propping his chin on his hand and yawning.

'You're fifty years too early, boy,' he told the nin casually. 'Come back in a few years and I'll think about challenging you again.'

The nin laughed softly, placing his kunai at the sannin's throat. 'For you, it's a few years too late, old man.'

'Really?'

Folding his arms, Jiraiya glanced up at the nin. 'You know, I could be working on my novel now, but no, I have to fight someone who can't even recognize a clone if it bit him in the throat. As I said, you're fifty years too early to fight with me.'

The nin sounded shaken. 'How – when –'

'When you used your mist concealing jutsu,' Jiraiya pointed out. 'The moment the mist surrounded us, I created a clone and left it on the frog, and decided to take a walk on the ground.'

He shook his head sadly. 'You're lucky, you know, if it were Gamabunta you were on, he'd have killed you by now. You can bring him to me now,' Jiraiya told the frog calmly.

The nin gasped in shock as the frog's tongue surrounded him before lifting him into the air – and slamming him face first into the ground.

Jiraiya glared at his summoning. 'You just wanted to kill him yourself,' he accused.

The frog laughed wheezily and disappeared.


	7. Chapter 7

**Title:** Half past twelve to half past one

**Rating:** Action

**Pairing / Characters: **Hyuuga Hinata, Hyuuga Hiashi, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji, Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, Tenten, Umino Iruka, Haruno Sakura

**Word Count: **1, 168 words

**Warnings: **Nothing

**Summary: **Hinata, Chouji, Ino and Iruka aid in the defence of Hokage Mountain, Lee, Neji and Tenten are ordered to assist them, Sakura loses another leaf shinobi

**A/N: **Whew, seven hours down, only a few more to go…

Hinata sagged against the wall, trying to catch her breath.

It had been foolish, she knew, moving so fast after she had only been healed, but she hadn't wanted to appear weak in front of her cousin, or her fellow team mates and genin.

Dropping her kunai limply, she pressed a hand against her stomach, wondering how much chakra she had left, and then dismissing the thought almost as soon as she'd had it. There was no time to think about it, no time to consider what she could and couldn't do.

Just then, she heard footsteps, and she stiffened, scrabbling on the ground for her kunai. Only when she heard a voice did she relax.

'Hinata!'

Hinata let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding – but stiffened for another reason.

'Chichi-ue…'

Her father took her by the shoulders. 'Where have you been?'

'I – I was fighting...'

Hiashi's sharp eyes took in the blood stained jacket she wore, and said grimly 'what happened to you?'

Hinata hung her head in shame. 'I was injured,' she admitted softly. 'Sakura-san healed me… but I can still fight!'

Hiashi's expression softened marginally. 'You're low on chakra, Hinata. Your fight is over. I'm taking you to Hokage Mountain. You'll be safer there, and –'

'No! I can still fight, I can –'

'Hinata! Let me finish my sentence. Not only will you be safer there amongst your friends, but they need several shinobi to defend the civilians gathered there. Your skills are perfect for that, because you are offensive and defensive.'

Hinata's eyes widened at the unexpected praise, and Hiashi took her by the shoulder.

'Stay close, and don't lose sight of me.'

'Hai!'

Tenten nearly fell over Neji before she actually saw him. He moved swiftly, steadying her, silver eyes taking in her disheveled condition.

'Are you hurt?'

Tenten fought to catch her breath. 'No. I just saw Tsunade-sama – she's ordered our team to Hokage Mountain. We're needed for defense, apparently. Wait – where's Lee?'

'Here,' Lee answered. 'Are any of the other genin teams being called to the mountain?'

'Shikamaru's team is there already, and we've only just been ordered – Shikamaru is needed in the field.'

Neji nodded. 'Because of his tactical abilities,' he concluded as they ran.

Tenten shrugged. 'Quite possibly. ANBU members are on the move as well, and we're not as experienced as they are.'

'No, I doubt that,' Lee said suddenly. 'If they need us at the mountain then civilians are being targeted.'

'And there's no time to waste,' Neji said, activating his byakugan. 'Let's move.'

Ino and Chouji stood atop the mountain, glancing down into the village. From their vantage point, they could see the destruction that had taken place in the last six hours, and it broke Ino's heart to see her village in ruins.

'It's not as bad as it looks, Ino.'

'Iruka-sensei!' Ino turned to look up at him as he put his hand on her shoulder.

Iruka's voice was gentle. 'In the morning you'll see it for yourself, Ino. I know how it seems, when it looks like everything is burning and all you see is bodies, but this is the way it is in a shinobi village. Shed your tears, grieve for those who are lost, and rebuild. We've lived through worse, and I dare say we'll live through this.'

'It just seems so… sad,' Ino ventured. 'In just a few hours they've managed to destroy everything.'

Iruka laughed suddenly. 'Actually Ino, I think you'll find we helped them do it.'

Chouji grinned. 'Yeah, I guess we did.'

Iruka squeezed Ino's shoulder reassuringly. 'Come on, we've still got work to do. The night is far from over.'

As they walked back down, Ino and Chouji exchanged glances at the sight of Hinata and her father walking up the stairs.

When Hinata stepped into the light, Chouji blanched. 'Hinata, you're hurt –'

Hinata went red. 'No… I'm fine, Chouji-kun.'

Hiashi bowed to Iruka. 'Please take care of my daughter. She can assist you, but as you can see, she's been injured. I want her to stay here, out of harm's way.'

Ino took Hinata by the arm. 'Come with us, Hinata. We need to check on the people in the caves.'

Hinata nodded, and bowed to her father. 'I'll do my best, Chichi-ue.'

Hiashi touched her hair. 'I know you will.'

Reddening yet again, Hinata followed Chouji and Ino down into the caves.

Sakura leaned against the wall, tears streaking her tears. She wiped them away, not realizing that she'd left a smear of blood on her skin. Keeping her eyes averted from the body of the leaf shinobi on the floor, she struggled to get her emotions under control, but it was difficult.

For the third time that night, a leaf shinobi had died under her hands before she could do a thing to help.

What good was being a medic nin when she couldn't do anything when it mattered, she wondered tiredly.

She was, despite her excellent chakra control, slowly becoming low on chakra, having used it to heal as well as to defend herself, and she wasn't sure how long she could keep up her strength. Sniffing in a valiant effort to regain her composure, Sakura knelt down and closed the young man's eyes with a hand that shook.

'Sakura-san, we need to continue,' Hideo said quietly.

Sakura nodded and pushed herself up, keeping up with the older medic as they strode through the dark streets. A groan caught her attention, and she paused, searching the bodies that lined the streets. It was a woman, a kunai embedded in her shoulder and several gashes on her cheeks and arms. Her leg was twisted awkwardly beneath her, clearly broken.

'Help me...' she gasped.

Sakura moved forward, seeing the hitae-ate strapped to her right arm. In the pale moonlight, the leaf pattern stood out clearly, and Sakura knelt down, clasping her hands together.

Her blue green eyes hardening, Sakura gathered her chakra together and without hesitation, slammed a fist into the woman's chest. Hideo cried out in shock at the brutal treatment, until the woman's features seemed to shimmer, morphing into the flat, harsh face of a mist shinobi.

Lips drawn back in pain and fury, he gasped 'how… could… you… have… known…'

Sakura's voice was calm. 'Next time, complete your illusion first. No kunoichi in Konoha has hands like yours. It stuck out straight away.'

She reached into her kunai holster, but found herself weaponless. Grimacing, she pulled the kunai out of the shinobi's shoulder, and grabbed a hank of hair, jerking his head backwards to expose his throat before she slit it.

Hideo let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding. 'You're one tough genin,' he remarked carefully.

Sakura got up. 'My master would be appalled if something like that fooled me,' she told him, surprised at how hard her voice was.

'Let's go, Hideo.'

'Right behind you,' Hideo answered with alacrity.


	8. Chapter 8

**Title:**

**Rating:**

**Pairing / Characters: **Hatake Kakashi, Pakkun, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Uzumaki Naruto, Sarutobi Asuma, Haruno Sakura

**Word Count: **1, 182 words

**Warnings: **Some violence, possible disturbing imagery

**Summary: **Naruto takes on a dark aspect of the nine tails, Tsunade and Jiraiya plan their defences of Konoha, Kakashi is wounded and Sakura bumps into him, Naruto takes more lives

**A/N: **I never EVER EVER thought that I would say it, but am I glad this is nearly over…

Kakashi landed lightly beside Pakkun, who was eyeing the body near him with extreme caution. In another situation, Kakashi might have found it amusing that Pakkun wouldn't go near the nin, but this situation wasn't amusing in the slightest.

His ninken were trained for anything, and trained not to be alarmed by anyone, and the fact that Pakkun point blank refused to go near the mist nin's body meant dark things indeed.

'What's wrong with him?' he asked intently.

'Naruto's smell is all over him, but so is the smell of the kitsune. I don't like it; Kakashi, that chakra is evil.'

Kakashi turned the nin over, and caught his breath, shocked beyond measure at what he saw.

The nin's chest had been ripped apart, and there were terrible chakra burns on his skin. It wasn't just that – it seemed that the actual cause of death was the bite marks to his throat.

Kakashi swallowed. 'We have to find him, Pakkun. This is going beyond an emergency. I don't even want to consider the fact that Naruto is… you get the idea.'

Pakkun glanced at the body briefly. 'We have a problem with that. Naruto's scent ends here and I can't smell him anywhere else. Perhaps the kitsune's chakra is concealing his scent.'

Kakashi slammed a fist into the ground. 'Then there's only one thing to do – I have to find him myself.'

'Then I'll be off,' Pakkun replied, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Kakashi got up, scanning the streets.

It was his preternatural instincts that saved his life as out of the darkness, a spiked chain tore furrows in the ground where he had been standing.

Naruto crouched behind a pile of rubble that had once been a ramen stand, fighting to control the power of the nine tails. Within his mind, he could see the cage that contained the massive Youma, and the chakra that flowed towards him in a steady stream, encasing his body in a shell.

He turned his hand over, unsurprised to see himself bleeding from every pore.

Naruto was powerless against the chakra of the nine tails, horrified to witness the lack of control over his own body. He could still taste the blood of the shinobi he had so brutally killed, and the part of his mind controlled by kyuubi delighted in the metallic tang of the blood.

His head shot up.

Voices.

He didn't recognize them, but the kyuubi was still thirsting for blood. Before he could stop himself, Naruto came out from behind the rubble and snarling, confronted the enemies before him.

Vaguely, Naruto realized that he was outnumbered, but even without Kyuubi's influence, he had never been one to back away from a challenge.

Extending his right hand, he formed a rasengan, its color tainted by kyuubi's chakra.

He grinned menacingly, and flew forward towards his enemies.

They were all his enemies, each and every person, every last shinobi he laid eyes on…

Asuma brought up the trench knives again, but this time, his hands were poised in preparation of a seldom used jutsu.

'Katon: Haisekisho!'

As he exhaled, clouds of superheated ash filled the air. Asuma lowered his hands and watched as the particles of ash swirled around his opponents, burning everything they touched. He was oblivious to the screams; the men who had confronted him were already dying, and there was no need to worry about them. Asuma's dark eyes were icy as he slid the trench knives back into his weapons pouch and leapt to the roof of the nearest building, scanning the street below him for danger.

'Tsunade! It looks like things are starting to turn in our favor,' Jiraiya called, walking towards her.

Tsunade grimaced, wiping her bloodied hands on her robes. 'It's about time, too. They're strong, and they have the numbers, but we have the advantage – its our homes we're protecting.'

Jiraiya picked up her hand and studied it carefully.

Tsunade punched him. 'What the hell are you doing?'

The frog hermit glared at her. 'Checking you for injuries. You aren't infallible, you know.'

Tsunade's expression softened. 'I know. I'm not hurt, it's not even my blood.'

'I'm glad to hear that,' Jiraiya muttered, dropping her hand like it was hot. 'We should see to the defenses, Tsunade. I don't want to be surprised by more shinobi lurking just outside our gates.'

'Neither do I,' Tsunade replied. 'We should split up, though. I'll take the West wall, you take the East. I'll have Kotetsu and Izumo cover the North wall, and Anko should already be on her way to back Genma up.'

'The jounin senseis?'

Tsunade frowned. 'The last time I saw Gai he was searching bodies for any wounded leaf shinobi. Kurenai and Asuma, I don't know of.'

'Kakashi?'

'Is the last person I'm worried about,' Tsunade answered calmly. 'Wherever he is, I'm sure he's perfectly all right. As for Iruka, he's already at Hokage Mountain with Ino and Chouji, and I've sent Neji's team to back him up.'

'We should start gathering together the genin and the wounded and let the ANBU and the jounins handle what's left of this disaster,' Jiraiya remarked.

Tsunade smiled, although it was barely visible, Jiraiya heard it in her voice.

'Where do you think I've sent Shikamaru?'

Kakashi dived to the side, neatly avoiding the chain and cursing his bad luck, for whatever chance he'd had to find Naruto was lost.

The mist nin pulled the chain back and snapped it forward again; Kakashi threw up his hand to protect his face, and felt the spikes on the chain bite into his wrist. Twisting his wrist, ignoring the pain as his flesh tore, Kakashi grabbed the chain between the spikes and jerked the nin forward, pulling him off his feet.

As he did so, he pulled out a kunai and rammed it into the nin's shoulder.

The nin collapsed, and Kakashi brought up his knee, snapping the nin's head backward and sending him tumbling.

Kakashi untangled the chain, dropping it into a heap on the floor and cradling his injured wrist against his chest. Scowling beneath the mask, he was about to continue his search for Naruto when a voice called his name.

'Kakashi-sensei!'

Glancing over his shoulder, Kakashi saw Sakura running towards him. She was alone, covered in blood, and looked wrecked. Kakashi dropped to one knee, clasping her shoulders.

'Are you hurt, Sakura?' he asked in concern.

Sakura shook her head. 'No… just tired… Kakashi-sensei – you're hurt!'

Kakashi shook his head. 'It's just some cuts, don't worry about me. More importantly, you're low on chakra, aren't you?'

Sakura hung her head 'I'm really tired,' she admitted, drooping.

'Come with me, I'll get you to safety,' Kakashi told her. 'You can't stay out here much longer.'

'I wanted to do more,' Sakura told him, her voice breaking.

'We're only human, Sakura. Even the sannin have their limits. You can't fight forever, none of us can.'

Ignoring her protests, he put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her forward gently.


	9. Chapter 9

**Title:** Night raid on Konoha

**Rating:** PG 13 to be on the safe side

**Pairing / Characters: **Nara Shikamaru, Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi, Genma, Mitarashi Anko, Izumo and Kotetsu, Uzumaki Naruto

**Word Count: **851 words

**Warnings: **Bit dark, kind of gruesome stuff with Naruto

**Summary: **Shikamaru runs into Kakashi and sakura, Anko and Genma consider motives, Naruto tries desperately to prevent himself from being a murderer

**A/N: **Two things: I don't know what Izumo and Kotetsu are capable of. I could be wrong, but I think they can use the Katon jutsu. The second thing is that the piece with Naruto isn't as illogical as it sounds – technically, if he's unconscious, kyuubi's chakra can no longer affect him, except to heal his wounds, so it's not like I'm killing him off. Mah, read it for yourself…

Shikamaru ran through the streets, keeping his eyes open. The first person he wanted to find was Sakura; as the fifth's apprentice, she was one of the more valuable genin, and besides, Tsunade herself had requested that he find her, and Shikamaru wasn't about to say no.

Two figures came out of the darkness towards him, and Shikamaru reached for a kunai before he recognized Kakashi's distinctive silver hair.

'Kakashi-sensei!'

'Shikamaru,' Kakashi said quietly. 'Are you all right?'

Shikamaru's nod was a barely perceptible movement in the darkness. 'I'm fine – and thankfully I'll stay that way now that I know Sakura is with you.'

'You were looking for me?' Sakura asked in surprise.

'Yeah – Godaime sent me to find you and bring you to Hokage Mountain – she doesn't want you out here anymore.'

Kakashi's relief was palpable. 'Shikamaru – make sure she gets there safely, will you? There's something I need to take care of.'

'I'll protect her with my life,' Shikamaru promised. 'Come on, Sakura.'

Sakura hesitated. 'Kakashi-sensei – give me your arm –'

'I'm fine, Sakura,' Kakashi told her reassuringly, but Sakura ignored him, already molding chakra and reaching for his arm. In the faint green glow, the terrible wound could be seen clearly, and Shikamaru blanched. 'What the hell happened to you?'

Kakashi sighed. 'It's a long story, Shikamaru. Thank you, Sakura,' he added, as his student lowered her hands.

Sakura nodded. 'You're welcome.'

Kakashi glanced around. 'Right you two, get going,' he said briefly, watching as they obeyed immediately before he went in the opposite direction.

Sakura managed to hold out until they rounded the corner. Only then did her knees give way, her body refusing to hold her up. Swearing, Shikamaru lunged forward, his hands biting into her arms as he steadied her.

'This is so damned troublesome,' he growled.

'I'm sorry, Shikamaru…' Sakura whispered, and Shikamaru sighed.

'It's not your fault. Get on.'

Sakura blinked at him as he crouched down before her. It took a minute before she could get herself to move, and it was in a dream-like state that she felt her arms cling to his shoulders, his hands supporting her body. Feeling curiously lightheaded, Sakura dropped her head against his shoulder as he stood up, closing her eyes.

Shikamaru felt her slender form sag against him, and suddenly worried, began to head back to Hokage Mountain.

Tsunade was going to kill him, he thought miserably.

Izumo and Kotetsu stood back to back, each wielding a kunai. Kotetsu took a breath. 'Ready?'

'Always,' Izumo answered tersely, and in unison, they brought up their hands, voices raised as one.

'Katon: Gokakyuu no jutsu!'

A ring of flames engulfed the surrounding mist ninja them, incinerating them into oblivion.

Genma didn't blink as he felt Anko's presence behind him. 'Well?'

Anko rolled her eyes. 'I think things are turning in our favor – Tsunade-sama certainly seems to believe it.'

'Only time will tell,' Genma murmured.

Anko rotated her shoulders, loosening the stiff muscles. 'Any intruders?'

'Not so far. ANBU is on the move, we're just clearing up the mess.'

Anko laughed suddenly. 'What a night.'

'You're telling me.' Genma sounded weary.

'Been a while, hasn't it?'

'To tell you the truth, Anko, I've been expecting something like this for a while,' Genma admitted. 'Since the Fifth was inaugurated, we've been on the brink of… infiltration, if not outright war. You know it as well as I do.'

'Aa. They want to test us, see if we've regained military power – I would say that this is proof enough that we have. However…'

'Something wrong?'

Anko frowned, tilting her head up to the sky. 'Something about this bothers me. If you're going to infiltrate a hidden village, you send a platoon, not an entire army. If Kirigakure is truly behind this, then they've lost their men – but why? Konoha is not yet at its full strength, but there must be at least three dozen mist shinobi here, if not more. It's not quite right, Genma.'

Genma yawned, although Anko was well aware that he was paying attention to her.

'Tomorrow is another day. For now, let's concentrate on surviving tonight,' he told her.

Anko grinned fiercely. 'Good idea.'

Naruto sank to his knees, clutching his throat, unable to understand why it hurt so much to breathe, why every inch of his skin felt as though it was being peeled off his body. He extended a hand, his kyuubi-enhanced eyesight seeing how badly it shook, and he wondered vaguely why he was still bleeding so much when all he could taste in his mouth was blood.

The more lucid part of his mind was screaming in horror at what he had done, but kyuubi was no longer listening.

'Have… to stop… can't kill… anymore…'

Naruto could only think of one way to stop the terrible chakra from raging through his bloodstream. Reaching into his kunai holster, he clutched a kunai tightly to prevent it from slipping from his bloodied hands – and with a smooth, sharp movement, plunged the triangular blade into his stomach with all his strength.


	10. Chapter 10

**Title:** Night raid on Konoha

**Rating:** G

**Pairing / Characters: **Uzumaki Naruto, Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Hyuuga Neji, Tenten, Rock Lee, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Hatake Kakashi

**Word Count: **949 words

**Warnings: **Nothing serious, I don't think

**Summary: **Naruto resorts to drastic measures, Tsunade and Jiraiya contemplate the night, Kakashi breaks the news of Naruto's murders

**A/N: **WOW, I'm nearly done! This whole spiel has broken my mind, it really has. Someone remind me again why I'm writing a twelve chapter tale consisting of nothing but fighting and general mayhem and disorder…

The blade went deep, and Naruto gasped aloud – it hurt more than he had expected it to. Staring down at the handle protruding from his skin, he could already feel the kyuubi's control of his mind slipping, and he rejoiced, despite knowing what he had just done to himself.

The life was rapidly leaving his limbs and he fell forward, bracing himself on his hands for a moment before they too, refused to support him, and he collapsed, trying to jerk the kunai free but unable to find the strength to.

Darkness slowly blurred his vision, and he closed his eyes, surrendering to it.

Ino nearly screamed at the sight of Shikamaru carrying Sakura up the stairs towards the caves. His face looked pinched in the firelight, and fearful, Ino ran down the stairs to meet him.

'Shikamaru – what happened? Is she all right?'

'I don't know – I think she's exhausted, Ino. Help me get her settled in the caves –'

Ino guided him up the stairs into the caves, where scores of civilians and at least a dozen and a half wounded shinobi were gathered. Choosing a spot where the light was dim, yet bright enough to check for injuries, Shikamaru laid her down gently, yanking off his jacket and using it to cushion her head.

Ino knelt down beside her, stroking her hair with a gentle hand. 'Sakura…'

The medic nin stirred, but did not wake.

Neji paced the mountain top restlessly, silver eyes continuously scanning the tree line for enemies. His byakugan saw nothing save for Lee, perched on a tree branch, and Tenten crouched gracefully atop a large boulder. Frowning, Neji knelt at the edge of the mountain, glancing down into the chaos below.

Konoha was a mess.

He could hear the low murmurings of the villagers in the caves below him, but he tuned it out, instead focusing his attention on the fires that lit up the streets below. Bodies were everywhere, and he knew that somewhere out there, the other genin were fighting. Kiba and Shino… Naruto… the three of them were still out there, fighting for Konoha, and Neji hadn't seen any of their jounin senseis since the chaos had began.

'Neji?'

Neji got to his feet. 'It's nothing. I just hope everyone is all right.'

Tenten touched his shoulder briefly before returning to her position.

The wind ruffled Tsunade's hair as she braced her hands on the wall. She couldn't detect any presences outside Konoha's borders, something that pleased her immensely. Katsuyu she had sent out to patrol the outer walls, and so far, had sensed nothing that alerted her to danger.

'Nothing, Tsunade,' a voice reported quietly. 'It seems that the last of the Kirigakure nins have been disposed of.'

'I certainly hope so,' Tsunade replied sharply. 'If there are more of them, I'm not sure how much longer we would be able to hold out for.'

Jiraiya's low chuckle floated out into the darkness. 'Konoha is again a force to be reckoned with.'

'Apparently so,' Tsunade said dryly. 'I don't know whether to be happy about that or not.'

'Be happy,' Jiraiya advised. 'At least we can stop sending shinobi out on suicide missions to prove Konohagakure's worth.'

Tsunade winced. 'I've had no choice, Jiraiya. The situation is how it is.'

'Not anymore,' Jiraiya said promptly.

'True,' Tsunade murmured.

Just then, a new voice made them both turn. 'Tsunade-sama… Jiraiya-sama… Gai told me I could find you here…'

The undisguised panic in Kakashi's voice made Tsunade stare at him; it was not only unusual to hear him panicking, it was totally unheard of.

'Kakashi? What's wrong?' Tsunade asked in bewilderment.

'Have either of you come across Naruto? I've been looking for him for the past three hours and I can't find him anywhere…'

Tsunade frowned. 'Naruto can handle himself, Kakashi. You and I both know that.'

'Not when he's drawn so heavily on the nine tails' chakra that he's biting the throats out of every mist nin he comes across,' Kakashi pointed out darkly.

Jiraiya blanched. 'He's what?'

'You heard right, Jiraiya-sama. He was very badly wounded when I last saw him, and had already formed the chakra shield. By the time he ran off, he had two chakra tails. I need to find him.'

'And fast,' Jiraiya told Kakashi, mind racing. 'We don't know how much of kyuubi's chakra Naruto is capable of handling – a two tailed state might actually kill him.'

'What about your ninken?' Tsunade demanded, the gravity of the situation striking her. 'Can't they trace him?'

'I've already tried – Pakkun thinks the kyuubi's chakra might be concealing Naruto's scent.'

'Damn it,' Jiraiya muttered. 'All right, let's just think about this – if Naruto was rational at some stage, he might have tried disrupting kyuubi's chakra flow – we've discussed it before, but we never tried it – which doesn't help us at the moment. He could also have tried getting himself out of the way of the fighting which means that he could be anywhere.'

Tsunade grimaced. 'I wasn't expecting this. I'll send a message to several of the jounins to keep an eye out for him, as well as the ANBU captains. We'll find him.'

'Kakashi – take the back alleys,' Jiraiya ordered. 'I'll search the main throughfares, but I doubt we'll find him there.'

'Right,' Kakashi said briefly and disappeared into the darkness.

Jiraiya glanced at Tsunade. 'Don't tell them why we're looking for him, Tsunade,' he cautioned. 'This could be potentially damaging to Naruto if it gets out.'

'I know, Jiraiya. Go on, find him before it really is too late.'

Jiraiya threw her a salute and went off in the opposite direction.


	11. Chapter 11

**Title:** Night raid on Konoha

**Rating:** G

**Pairing / Characters: **Kurenai, Asuma, Iruka, the genin, Kakashi and Pakkun, Naruto

**Word Count: **803 words

**Warnings: **Nothing

**Summary: **The jounin and genin try to find Naruto

**A/N: **holds head headache… headache…

Kurenai heard the eagle's cry in the silence, and she blinked. 'Naruto injured? It seems quite serious…'

Asuma ran a hand through his hair. 'This whole night has been quite serious, Kurenai. As Shikamaru would say, the whole thing's become troublesome.'

Kurenai smiled. 'And he'd be right. We're done here, why don't we try and find him?'

Asuma nodded. 'All right. Split up?'

He heard the faint laughter in Kurenai's tone. 'I'll find you, Asuma.'

A grin quirked his lips. 'I'm sure you will.'

Iruka leaned against the wall, trying to steady himself, his face losing its colour.

'Iruka-sensei, what's wrong?'

Iruka lifted his head to see Shikamaru standing before him.

'Shikamaru – Naruto has been seriously injured, and Kakashi can't find him anywhere,' Iruka revealed, his voice shaking slightly. 'ANBU members and the jounins have been asked to look for him, but I'm not sure they'll know where to start…'

Shikamaru swallowed. 'How serious is serious?'

'I don't know,' Iruka admitted.

Shikamaru didn't say anything more, but turned back to the caves. Iruka blinked at his retreating figure.

'Shikamaru, where are you going?'

Shikamaru glanced back over his shoulder. 'To find him, where else? I don't abandon my friends.'

'You have orders – '

'Iruka-sensei – there are more than enough chuunin and jounin here, and most of our enemies have been killed already. Besides, finding a wounded leaf shinobi takes precedence in my mind.'

Iruka shook his head, but was inwardly thankful that Naruto's friends were the type to disobey a Hokage's direct order.

'Ino, wake Sakura up,' Shikamaru ordered.

Ino and Hinata exchanged puzzled looks, the former glancing up at him. 'She needs her rest, Shikamaru.'

'Her team mate needs her more,' Shikamaru told her. 'Naruto's been wounded – Iruka-sensei just told me. Tsunade-sama has ANBU members and jounin looking for him, we're going to help them.'

Ino was already shaking Sakura's shoulder. 'What makes you think we'll find him if they can't?'

'Because we're friends, and we're a team, that's why. Get her up, I'll find Neji and the others.'

'Ok.'

Shikamaru went back the way he'd come, not looking back to make sure that Ino was following his directions.

Kiba yawned, idly stroking Akamaru, who lay asleep in his arms. 'That was fun,' he muttered sarcastically.

'At least it's over,' Shino remarked.

'Yeah.'

A figure loomed out of the darkness, and both boys reached for weapons, until Shino recognized the odd shape.

'Gai-sensei?'

'Ah, Shino, Kiba, I see you're both all right. Good, start heading back to Hokage Mountain – everyone is gathering there.'

Gai withheld the information on Naruto, not wanting to alarm the two of them.

Kiba yawned again, wider than before.

'Are you coming back with us, Gai-sensei?' he asked.

Gai shook his head before he realized that they couldn't see him do it. 'No, I have something to take care of. You two go ahead.'

Gai watched them go before he resumed his search for Naruto among the bodies that lined the streets.

Kiba didn't expect to see his fellow genin leaving the mountain instead of staying there.

'Did we miss something?' he asked curiously. 'I thought we were supposed to be staying here.'

Shikamaru slapped a hand to his forehead. 'You don't know – Naruto's been injured, and he's somewhere out there. We're going to find him.'

Kiba's voice was incredulous. 'How the hell does that idiot manage to get himself into these situations? Honestly, you turn your back on him for a minute and he goes and gets himself injured, the total moron, the stupid fool – where are we going to start?'

Shikamaru scowled. 'I really don't know,' he muttered.

Kakashi bit down on his thumb, drawing blood before he performed the seals necessary to summon Pakkun. His nin dog looked up at him, a quizzical expression on his face.

'What do you want, Kakashi?'

'I want you to try again, Pakkun. I have a feeling we'll be able to find him this time.'

Pakkun heaved a sigh. 'All right,' he muttered, and began to sniff at the ground before saying 'this way,' and disappearing. Kakashi followed at a run, hoping that this time, they would find him.

'Kakashi – I've picked up his scent – it's all over here.'

Kakashi glanced around cautiously. 'If you can still smell him, I guess he's not using kyuubi's chakra anymore.'

'Naruto!'

Kakashi hastened to Pakkun's side, his eyes widening. In the faint, pre dawn light, Kakashi could just make out Naruto's crumpled, bloodied figure, and as he turned him gently, went white at the sight of the kunai handle protruding from his stomach.

Jiraiya's words filtered into his mind. '…disrupting kyuubi's chakra… haven't tried it yet…'

'Naruto… you must have been desperate…'

Cradling the genin as carefully as possible, Kakashi and Pakkun ran toward Hokage Mountain.


	12. Chapter 12

**Title:** Night raid on Konoha

**Rating:** G

**Pairing / Characters: **Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, Tsunade, the genin and Shikamaru, Jiraiya, ANBU captain Nakamura, Izumo, Kotetsu, Anko and Genma

**Word Count: **961 words

**Warnings: **Nothing

**Summary: **Naruto is healed, Kakashi praises him, another day dawns in Konoha

**A/N: **Er… yay?

The rising sun highlighted the damage done to Konoha and her peoples.

Shikamaru and the genin stood below Hokage Mountain, trying to consider where Naruto would have gone, or would have been.

'All right, this is what we do,' the chuunin said abruptly. We'll split up into two teams, and search either side the streets starting here at the base of the mountain. Once we've covered the main streets, we –'

'Don't any of you move an inch.'

Shikamaru froze at the voice, turning slowly to see Tsunade standing behind him, hands on her hips. She sighed.

'You know, Naruto is usually the one who ignores whatever I say, in fact, I've come to expect it from him – but from the rest of you?'

Tsunade shook her head. 'You can all stop worrying, Kakashi found Naruto a few minutes ago. The medics are attending to him as we speak.'

Sakura let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding. 'Is he ok?'

Tsunade laughed. 'He's seen better days, that's for certain, but he'll be fine.'

'Thank god,' Kiba muttered. 'The idiot, always getting himself into trouble…'

'Kiba-kun!' Hinata protested, and everyone laughed.

Kakashi had his back against the wall, Naruto cradled in his arms as the medics healed the wounds. His hand was gentle as he stroked Naruto's hair away from his face, his eyes on the deep cuts marring Naruto's skin.

'Kakashi-san – we've done what we can for him, what he needs now is rest. He should be fine.'

'Thank you,' Kakashi said absently, his eyes not on the medic as went to attend to several other wounded shinobi, but on his student as he stirred.

'Naruto.'

Naruto blinked up at Kakashi's face. 'Kakashi-sensei…'

A smile, hidden by his mask, graced Kakashi's face. 'You're going to be fine, Naruto. You've fought well.'

Remorse, mingled with shame, crossed Naruto's face. 'I killed people… I can still taste their blood in my mouth… I couldn't control myself…'

Kakashi's eyes were serious.

'Naruto, I want you to remember something. I know how hard you've been training to control yourself when you use the chakra of the nine tails, and I'm proud of how far you've come. I checked the bodies of the people you killed – Naruto, you only killed our enemies. Even in your tailed state, you only killed the ones you were supposed to. That in itself is an achievement you should be proud of.'

Naruto's eyes were wide. 'Really, Kakashi-sensei? I didn't hurt anyone else? I didn't hurt any of my friends?'

Kakashi shook his head. 'You didn't hurt any leaf shinobi or civilian, not a single person.'

Naruto relaxed. 'That's good to hear.'

He bolted upright abruptly, ignoring the agonizing pain in his temples. 'Why are we still sitting here, we should be fighting, we should be –'

Kakashi forced him to lie down again. 'Naruto, calm down. The fighting is over. The sun is rising.'

Naruto lay still. 'I think I'm tired,' he admitted, yawning widely.

Kakashi chuckled softly. 'Go to sleep, brat.'

Naruto looked wounded. 'Why does everyone call me a brat?' he wondered sleepily.

'Because you're our brat,' Kakashi told him, ruffling his hair. 'Sleep, Naruto.'

Naruto closed his eyes, and his breathing soon evened out.

Izumo and Kotetsu stood with Genma and Anko, watching the sun rise over a bruised and broken village.

Anko took a deep breath of the fresh air. 'Mah, we've lived through worse,' she murmured, 'and I dare say we'll manage this.'

Kotetsu smiled faintly. 'Rebuild what's been broken, and move on. That's our way, it always has been.'

Genma leaned against the wall, folding his arms. 'True. Tsunade-sama is still here, and it doesn't seem like we've lost too many people. The ANBU are dispersing of the remaining mist nins as we speak, and we can consider our job done.'

'Just another night in a shinobi village,' Izumo said dryly, stretching.

Tsunade and Jiraiya stood with Shikamaru and the genin atop Hokage Mountain, their eyes on the village below.

'Iruka-sensei was right,' Ino said softly. 'We may have lost some of our villagers, and half the town may lie in ruins, but we're alive. We survived…'

'And we'll continue to survive,' Jiraiya told her. 'As long as Konoha still stands, we'll prevail. They were strong, but we're stronger. Obviously.'

'It still seems so sad,' Neji volunteered. 'I suppose we did the best we could…'

'Tsunade-sama, captain Nakamura reporting in!'

Tsunade turned. 'Report.'

'Hai. We've sent several ANBU teams out, and can find no leaf shinobi among the dead or the wounded. Several of the Kirigakure nins have been taken into custody, and Morino Ibiki is questioning them. So far, their motives remain undiscovered.'

Tsunade frowned. 'Is it possible that their motive was to destroy Konoha?'

'We've considered that,' the ANBU captain admitted, 'but it seems more likely that this was a test of Konoha's strength. At any rate, hunter nins are already disposing of the mist nin's bodies.'

'Good work,' Tsunade said absently. 'You know, if they really wanted to test our military strength, they would have done better to just ask me about it, that way they would still have an army left.'

Jiraiya's laughter, long and loud, raised their spirits and banished the exhaustion they felt after their night's work.

_The village hidden in the leaves remained._

_Many of its homes and buildings lay in ruins, and many of its protectors were injured, but the numbers were few, and they had seen worse. Konoha's peoples would rebuild, bury their dead, and move on, for it was the way in a shinobi village, and the way of those entrusted with a will of fire._

_The sparkling sunlight shone on the stone faces carved into Hokage Mountain._


End file.
